Pierce County, WA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- PCC 8.96.020
- Enforcing agency
- Pierce County Sheriff's Department
- Penalty class
- Class 3 civil infraction
- Applies to
- County-owned property only, not parks
- Adopted
- Ordinance 99-29, 1999
Summary
Pierce County bans camping and overnight parking on any county-owned property outside of areas the county specifically designates and posts for that purpose. The Sheriff's Department enforces the rule, and a violation is a Class 3 civil infraction under PCC 1.16.
8.96.020 Parking and Camping Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to park or camp on any County property except in areas specifically designated and posted for those purposes. (Ord. 99-29 § 1 (part), 1999)
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-515, and legislation passed through May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020 makes it unlawful to park or camp on county property except in areas specifically designated and posted for camping or overnight parking. A to cover pitching a tent or shelter, arranging bedding to remain overnight, or parking a trailer, camper, or other vehicle for the purpose of remaining overnight. 08 PCC) rather than this chapter. C, so simply leaving a bicycle overnight on county land does not trigger the ban. 030. This chapter, adopted by Ordinance 99-29 in 1999, functions as the county's core no-camping rule for its own land and grounds, separate from any homeless-services siting or outreach policy the county runs through its Human Services Department.
Because the ordinance applies only to county-owned real property, it does not reach private land, state highway right-of-way, or land inside incorporated cities like Tacoma or Lakewood, which enforce their own camping rules.
Violations & Fines
A violation of Chapter 8.96 is a Class 3 civil infraction under Chapter 1.16 PCC, issued and enforced by the Sheriff's Department. Camping or parking overnight is only lawful on county property where the county has posted a specific designation allowing it; absent that posted designation, any overnight camp or vehicle stay on county land is cited under 8.96.020.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you camp anywhere on Pierce County property?
Does the county camping ban cover county parks?
What counts as camping under Pierce County's rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pierce County
Compare Pierce County to another location·View the Washington homelessness & encampment rules overview
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